Building Castles From Air
by WarPigCrawling
Summary: Before the events of the movie took place, Pitch found the greatest arsenal against the Man in the Moon and his precious Guardians. But will he be successful in molding her in to his image or will this all have been a huge mistake?
1. The Night It Began

The night was going to be dark soon, incredibly so. Though the moon was full and shone bright on the thick forest below, its celestial glow was flickering off the trees by the onslaught of a mass of black, roiling clouds moving across the sky. In just another second, the light would fade completely.

But take your mind away from the sky and look under the clouds to the thick woodland below. The animals, frightened to come out for some unknown reason, were all deathly quiet. The owls suddenly appeared to think that they would rather catch mice later. The only sound to be heard was the low whisper of leaves as the wind moved lazily through the branches. With moonlight no longer showing through, the forest was as dark as that Stygian river which flows through the Greek Underworld, taking all your lost hopes and dreams while you pass on.

Hidden away behind a particularly concentrated cluster of spruce and pine, was a cave. While it wasn't a particularly spectacular cave, it was one that had never been seen by human eyes, except by one. This unfortunate girl had faced a difficult set of trials, coming out on top after each one with her ingenuity and creativity, before her journey ended here. But where her mortal life ended, her immortal one would begin.

Earlier that night, before the dark clouds had had a chance to block out the Moon, he chose this girl, reviving her spirit so it could live on. As her eyes flicked open for the first time after her death, she was confused. Perhaps she was blind, for she could not make out anything. Her eyes adjusted though to the darkness surrounding her, and she was relieved to see she could make out the faint outline of an entrance.

On unsteady legs, she made her way to her feet and came to the opening. It was a bit brighter out here, freed from the musty, suffocating stone walls of the cave. She found herself in a small glade, peering nervously into the more opaque shadows underneath the branches of the spruce trees. The shadows seemed to be moving, growing and shrinking, but the girl shrugged it off as just her imagination run rampant. Although, she couldn't seem to shake off her growing fear. It was irrational, she thought, she was completely alone. But maybe, just maybe. . .that's what she was afraid of.

Despite how naïve a girl might be, this was certainly an ominous situation anyway. There was something that was missing, a feeling that she couldn't understand. Her eyes were drawn up to the sky from that gut feeling she was unable to explain, but she only saw blackness. A sign, perhaps?

A thousand possibilities of what happened and why she was there flew through her mind in the seconds that passed while she observed her surroundings. She couldn't remember anything, not even her name. If only there was another person here, someone who could answer at least one of her many questions. But wait. . .the shadows _were _moving, becoming darker and even more solid than before. This was against their nature, they did not live on their own, and yet, somehow they appeared to be.

They were skirting and slinking on the outside of her vision to a point behind her. She didn't know what to expect, but definitely not what what met her eyes. As she turned she was surprised to find a tall, lithe man standing there, seemingly dressed in the shadows that moved toward him. His skin was a dull tone of pale-gray and had black, glossy hair that rose to sharp points behind his head.

Although, this all paled in comparison to his bright eyes. That strange silver-golden that strongly reminded the girl of a moon covering the sun. She wasn't sure if that had a name, or if she had ever seen it happen before, but yet, she could imagine it perfectly. His face seemed to her both pleased and unimpressed, which looked difficult but he managed to pull it off somehow.

"Seraphina," his silvery voice called out.

The unsettled girl let out an involuntary, "What?"

"Your name, if you wish. Weren't you curious? You must have been."

"Yes, of course," she replied tentatively. "Do I. . . know you? I don't- I can't remember anything."

The strange man took a few leisurely steps forward, staring at the girl almost hungrily. "No," he replied matter-of-fact. "But I heard your name from somewhere else and since they don't appear to be here, I have come to tell you."

"W-what is your name?" she asked timidly. The man's very presence seemed to emanate fear.

With one final step towards the girl until he was only a foot away, he leaned down and whispered with a devilish grin, "Pitch Black."

When he noticed her spike of panic, her tremblings, he tsked and said with a honeyed voice, "Do not worry, child. I may be fearsome, but I will not hurt you. You see, we are alike in many ways. I can help you. _We_ can help _each other_."

Her instincts, taking over some part of her mind, forced her to flee, pushing past the scraping needles on the trees and deeper into the darkness. Anger flared inside Pitch, but he pushed it down and smiled. It was only natural of course. This would take delicacy and time. And Pitch Black was nothing if not patient.

"No matter," he whispered to himself. "We'll direct her to the path of the nearest village, won't we? And then we will have her." The man shrouded in shadows looked up to the boiling sky, until a thin spot cleared enough to let the weakest of moonbeams fall through. "You're a fool," Pitch said to the silver orb smugly. "You really should conceal your actions if you do not want me to find out about it."

Although, Pitch would never admit it was pure luck he happened to be terrorizing the children in this particular village when he heard the moonbeams message. Here he was for just a bit of fun and power when a new spirit was being born. It happened periodically, but not for a long stretch. Well, it would be a longer stretch for the Moon to have a spirit. This one would be the Nightmare King's. The one that looked so much like. . . well, the memories of a life long passed were never very clear.

And with that he melted into the shadows near him, following the trail the girl had made. He would send out his shadows to scare her on the correct path. He would have to conceal his nature if he didn't want to frighten her further. The Man in the Moon chose her for some reason, and he be damned if he didn't try to ruin those precious plans. Especially in an effort to boost his own. He could turn her into a Fearling princess, but he just couldn't. Something unknown inside the twisted, black heart of his wanted her as she was.

The Dark Ages may have ended but he would rise again. This time he would have the Moon's own help. This time he would not lose.


	2. Finding Safety with Fear

The first thing I knew was darkness. And fear. But those left me when I met that man, what was his name? Pitch Black. Right. He startled me, of course. Nobody was there and then in the next second he was. That would scare anybody. But then, then I felt. . . relieved, or, I don't know what. Hopeful?

And he knew my name. Seraphina. I like it.

But for some reason, each step he took towards me sent shivers of fear down my spine, and his grin set panic in my chest, forcing my heart to flutter and tap out irregular rhythms and throat to constrict. It was irrational, of course. He had done nothing to cause my fear, but some primal instinct yelled _Run!_ at me.

Now I was alternately sprinting and tripping through the forest. The ground wasn't exactly overrun with snagging underbrush, but with no light to lead me and dead leaves covering exposed roots. . . Well, the going was rough. I stumbled onto a small trail, made by deer maybe. Following this, I soon came to a fork. The right side looked as good as any way to take and I was going to go down that path, but the shadows started crawling towards me.

Unsure of what to do, I traveled down the left-hand side. As I looked behind me, the shadows seemed to have gone. Okay, so they wanted me to come down this way, that wasn't very reassuring. There was nothing I could do about that though. Just keep running. I can do that.

My breath became heavier, but I was surprised I had lasted this long. I had been running for near a half hour and only a few minutes ago I began feeling winded. Just ahead was a thick line of trees, these I pushed through and I stumbled onto a cleared pasture. In the distance was a village.

Most of the buildings were low-walled and rectangular with doorways at both ends. Some were stone-walled and others timber-framed. Almost all of them had smoke exiting from a hole on the straw roofs. A little ways from the homes were posts and wattle walling. Even from my distance I could hear the pigs squealing. A river laughed quietly somewhere in the night.

Relief flooded through my heart, maybe this is where I came from. Surely someone would know me. Walking towards the village an all-pervading stench of smoke, cooking and animals surrounded me. The mixture was not exactly pleasant by any means, but one would get used to it after a while.

As I got closer I could see more flimsily made constructs of sheds and farrowing pens for the pigs and goats. There were some cattle and sheep on the north side of the village as well. I noticed there weren't very many of the animals. Maybe only one or two for each house. Who knew how many people were in each one. This must be a tough winter for them.

There was a group of women huddled in front of one house. One of them was crying and the others were trying to console her. The woman's husband came down the road, thanked the ladies, and took his wife inside their worn-down home. The straw roof had patches, the planks outside the door were rotted, and there was only one solitary piglet in the back pen.

While my attention was on the crying woman, I didn't notice the three other ladies walking my way down the hardened dirt road. By the time I noticed it was too late to back up. She must be incredibly distracted not to notice me standing here-

She walked straight through me. The sensation sent a spike of cold pain through me until I reformed once more. The effect was terrifying. Was I some sort of shade or demon? Had I died and was forced to wander earth until. . .

"Hello?" I shouted desperately. I needed to know if it wasn't just my imagination. When no one answered I walked up to the nearest house, the one that the crying woman had walked into. "Hello? Please. . ."

I slammed my fist onto the wooden door and was both surprised and cheered that my clenched hand made real, physical contact. The door opened and the face of the man poked through. He apparently saw nothing and shook his head. With a mumble of idiot kids he slammed the door shut. I could have screamed in frustration. So I could interact with my surroundings yet I could not be seen. What had happened to me?

"Ah, so you've found your erstwhile family," the same silvery voice from before said. I spun around to see the man, Pitch Black, standing in the deeper shadows.

"My. . .family," I say in an undertone to myself. That must be why they were crying. Who knows how long I was gone from them. And now that I could not be seen, they would never know I was alright. Just the thought of it made my eyes burn with held-back tears.

"How is it you can see me when no one else can?" I asked thickly. "I don't understand."

"Shh, shh, everything is all right," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and looking down at me with sympathy and pity. "I can see you because you and I are alike. Spirits that have a special purpose in the world. You see, I have been alone for so long, and then here you come. You don't have to be alone like I was."

"Special purpose? What kind of purpose?"

"We each bring something to children. I give them something very important. Fear."

"How is that good?" I asked incredulously. I moved out of his reach, hands clutching at my arms. "There is no good use for fear!"

"Come walk with me. I will explain to you just how crucial fear is in the world." When I didn't follow him he outstretched his palm.

"I want to stay with my parents," I said instead of grabbing his hand.

His arm dropped and his manner turned cavalier. "I do not think it is best if you do. Do you not remember what they did to you? I was here for a short time, child, but I saw many fiendish things. Heard many foul whispers. Fear is never so bad as what the human heart can do to a person."

"No, I don't remember anything."

"I can take you inside, and you can see for yourself what manner of people they are." Again, he held up this hand, but this time I took it. The world began to melt until it was pure darkness. Out of reflex I clutched at Pitch's hand harder until the the light of a fire reached my eyes. We were inside the house now and the couple were sitting on a raised portion of the floor.

The woman was no longer crying, but instead the husband was.

"Oh, stop your crying, Biǫrn. It was for the best. There is nothing we can do now, what is done is done."

"She was out_ daughter_, Finna. And we sent her to her-"

"Do not speak of it. You will only bring more misfortune on us. She was a strange child anyway, never fitting in. We did her a mercy. And now we have enough food to last winter. Be thankful only one of us died instead of all of us and that no one suspects. Now go to sleep. There is no use obsessing over the matter any more than we have already."

With that they laid down and prepared to rest. Pitch Black pulled us back into the shadows and we were out in the night once more.


	3. Gaining Trust

"I'm even more confused than before," the girl said to me as we stood outside the house again. "What were they talking about?"

"You, Seraphina. They took you to the woods to die and sought pity from their neighbors. They arranged for your death and called it an accident. All because they wanted a bit more food to eat. And you think_ me_ evil. They planned it days in advance, if you're curious."

"No, I'm not curious! I don't want to hear anymore about them!" she cried. So close now. I can practically hear the Moon's indignation. It is a sweet sound, even if it is my own imagination. Since meeting this newly born spirit, I have been able to imagine so many enticing plans of the future. Perhaps that is what she is able to do. As I rule over Fear, so it could be she rules over the power to create in one's mind.

"Do not fret over these people," I spoke to her in a soft tone. It is important I sound caring. Sympathetic, even. It would take time to earn her complete trust. "They are no longer part of your life. I can teach you how to use your abilities, which you undoubtedly possess. We can shape the children of the world together."

"You won't betray me like my parents did?" she asked bitterly. I gave a small chuckle.

"And be all alone once more? No, I will be here for you. Always."

"You promise?" she asked, eyes glistening as she looked up at me. Her face would have made any mortal race to cheer her mood. As it was, I told her I promised.

With a giant leap she wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in the crook of my neck. At first I felt a flicker of annoyance. Children were supposed to fear me! But this was what I was working towards the whole time, I suppose. If it furthers my goals then I will push aside my discontent for the moment.

Her fear had tasted so delicious, and her trust was even sweeter after I used her own fears to gain it. Alone and betrayed, what easy pickings she was. It would not take much to mould her in my image.

The defeat of the Guardians would bring me enough satisfaction to last even my immortal life. But that day would have to wait. For now, I had to begin with the girl, whose name I told her was Seraphina. I already had a vague guess as to her talents. If they were as powerful as I dared to hope. . .

"Come on, then," I said to her abruptly. "It is time we left this village behind. We have much to work on, you and I."

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**tell me what you think, lovelies :) Just a heads up, it may be awhile before I can update again because of school, but I'll try to find time :)**


	4. Into the Lair

"Come on, then," I said to her abruptly. "It is time we left this village behind. We have much to work on, you and I."

I was wary, at first. Trusting this man would take a leap of faith. But I leapt far and high, because I was alone, because I was scared. I was partly scared because of him, of course. He was dark and foreboding, but I could see the loneliness inside him, too. He didn't seem like the kind of person to be upfront and truthful, but I knew that was genuine.

Besides, if there is one who is like me, there must be others. If Pitch wouldn't keep me, I would find another. Although I shuddered to think how long it might take to find someone else.

Pitch and I gathered in front of a dark patch of shadows. Grabbing onto my arm, he pulled me through the darkness. The faint light from sputtering torches and the soft sound of sleeping animals and tempestuous wind disappeared just as we did.

No sound and no light reached my senses as we traveled. This journey was over in just a few seconds, if that. Although it seemed much longer. The place we arrived in seemed to be a never-ending underground chamber filled with hanging cages and crumbling bridges.

A few, small beams of light seemed to come from high above and only faintly illuminated the large, sunken palace.

The aforementioned palace seemed to be tilted, making you feel like it's only barely clinging to a cliff's edge. Large columns of black rock and stone surrounded the cavern. Columns of once beautiful marble, now dirtied to almost a black littered the ground in a row that led off into the darkness. Some were still standing, but their tops were hidden in shadows.

There were places where I couldn't tell if the ground was covered in shadows or if there was only a yawning abyss. Stairs and bridges led off into unknown places, whether to dead ends or more formidable rooms, I couldn't tell.

The whole place was in shades of grey and blacks. The only color came from flashes of bright orange and yellow I caught from the corner of my eye.

They were always gone when I turned my head. "

This is where you live?" I asked. "It's huge!"

"Well, a King needs a palace. And I have been here for awhile, long enough to expand."

"You're a King?" I asked in awe. He never said that before, had he? "Of what? Fear? You seem to like it an awful lot."

"Yes," he answered calmly after a minute, "and Nightmares."

"Did you choose to?" I asked. "Why would you want to scare children? I don't get why you think it's such a great thing. Don't they just suffer?"

Pitch was silent for a few minutes and then he spoke in a quiet voice, walking past me down the hallway of broken columns. "Suffering is the mother of happiness."

Not wanting to be left behind, I ran to catch up. "So, will I stay here?"

"Of course," he replied, "we will be like family." He stopped and put his hand on my shoulder, looking at me with an intense gaze. "Stronger than family."

I desperately needed someone who cared for me. So I nodded back, relieved beyond belief that I was fortunate enough to find that someone. Even if he was a bit frightening sometimes.

Okay, most of the time.

We continued walking down the gloomy corridor in silence. I wondered where we were going, but didn't want to feel as if I was bothering him by asking more questions. My fur boots kicked up small pieces of rocks as I followed. I had holes in them. Would I be able to change them? Another question for the pile, I suppose.

"Oh," I said softly. "What is that?"

A faint shaft of light fell on a great, black and grey metal ball crowded with small dim lights. Besides that, this room had larger, and more complex . Big, hanging cages filled the ceiling along with imposing stalactites. Grey arches and walls led off in all directions.

"My globe. Each light represents a child."

"It's amazing! This is what the world likes? Fascinating. But why do you have a world with lights of children on it?"

"They show whether a child believes or not," he said flatly.

"In. . .you?"

"No. The self-proclaimed Guardians," he spat out, anger transforming his face. "They took my believers away from me with their nauseating bribes. That pestering tooth fairy with her pretty little coins. That aggravating North and his spoiling presents. They are all despicable."

"So that's why no one can see you. But I would prefer toys to nightmares-"

I stopped as the shadows seemed to thicken and writhe, gathering around Pitch Black. Faint whispers reached my ears, but I couldn't tell where they came from. As I blinked, Pitch had gone. A breathe, then two, went by before his voice spoke up from behind me. Even though I wouldn't admit it, I jumped. And I knew, even though I hadn't known him for long, Pitch would have noticed.

"You still don't understand," he said in a sing-song voice. "The world needs fear. Desperately. Can you imagine a world without it? Children would play on ice too thin and drowning, murderers would run rampant without fear of retribution and penalty. Countless, pointless deaths from the unafraid youth."

My head began nodding slowly. I could see how he felt it was a necessity.

"Fear. . .keeps you safe," my voice came out more like a question than anything else.

Pitch's face appeared from the shadows, morphed into a fierce grin. "Yes," he said softly. "Finally, you comprehend. Now you see I am not all that bad. I only care for the children's safety."

I nodded again, this time with more certainty. The darkness lessened.

"Now, come child, let's explore my land of shadows."

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**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading. If you feel like any of the original characters are ooc (so far only Pitch) then let me know and I'll try to fix it. This is my first rotg fanfiction so I'm trying my best :) Drop a review or pm anytime.**

**-wpc**


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